22,520 lbs: Food bank benefits as CFHS wins first

Aubrey Caruso/Staff Writer
Cedar Falls High School targeted hunger this year donating a grand total of 22,520 pounds to the Northeast Iowa Food Bank and becoming the winners once again in their second annual competition against Waterloo East and West.After many activities, fundraising and working together in such activities as trick or treating for cans, bean bag throwing, raffle tickets and third hour classes competing to bring in the most cans, Cedar Falls filled the truck with hundreds of boxes and sent it off to be weighed last Thursday.

“If we don’t help who’s going to? I think that it’s our responsibility to help other people. With 13 million children in our country who are hungry tonight, that’s just ridiculous. Again, and if we don’t help them, who’s going to? It’s those kids we want to give the basic human needs to, and were just not meeting that need, so that’s why it’s important,” teacher and food drive coordinator Diane Flaherty said.

In addition to the big Cedar Valley schools, Hudson High, Janesville High and Northern University High also participated in the food drive.

“The biggest part of the food drive is seeing the whole student body working together for a common goal,” teacher and food drive coordinator Marcey Hand said.

The total raised throughout Cedar Falls High School was 21.4 pounds per student. Last year, Cedar Falls High School raised 23,273 pounds of food. The Cedar Valley schools’ total last year was 61,176.

“I think there was more enthusiasm last year, but that could be because it was new and exciting. I also think that we remembered how much work it was in those final weeks hauling and loading the truck. I don’t think many people knew how much physical work went into the last three days. We remembered that as we started this year,” Diane Flaherty said.

Some of CFHS school groups that were involved were sophomore, junior and senior leadership, SSR and Harmony. They collectively held many fundraising events such as the student vs. teacher kickball game in the gym, a Halloween dance, a F-O-O-D bracket basketball game (patterned after the NCAA Final Four), bake sale and many others.

“I think we did fairly well this year. We were off to a slow start, but I think once contests got started, classes were into it more. I was concerned though that we had classes that didn’t bring in one can. I am just so grateful so many people participated,” Diane Flaherty said.

This shows what an effect that just the Cedar Valley can make on so many people by students donating to the food drive.

“There is still going to be hungry people and we shouldn’t forget those people after Thursday when we loaded all our food and conclude our student hunger drive,” counselor and food drive coordinator Ryan Flaherty said.